Door construction



1952 o. c. ECKEL DOOR CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 9, 1951 z) I J I 1 (7M IgIiENTOR. flan/0M 5/. C032 NOV. 25, 1952 O c, ECKEL 2,619,167

DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed May 9, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 @MWw US WU 6'. 605

3 Sheets-Sheet I5 /VENTO O. C. ECKEL DOOR CONSTRUCTION Nov. 25, 1952 I Filed May 9, 1951 n fix Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR CONSTRUCTION, Oliver C. Eckel, Cambridge, Mass.

Application May 9, 1951 Serial No. 225,334

8 Claims.

This invention relates to door constructions in general, and particularly to a new and useful flexible, swinging door for entrances to a storage room or refrigerator.

One object of the invention is to provide a flexible, swinging door which can be readily opened without damage by bumping a truck against it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved insulated door construction for walk-in type refrigerators or cold storage vaults.

A further object is to provide a door with many separate yielding members, whereby when one member is bumped by a truck, in normal prac tice, to open the door, usually that member alone will yield without distorting the door,.yet' if the door is bumped unusually hard by the truck the whole door will yield and become temporarily distorted, thus my door will withstand repeated shocks, either usual or unusual, in forcing it open, without being damaged.

The foregoing and other objects which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, may be accomplished by a construction, combination and arrangement of parts such as is disclosed by the drawings. The nature of the invention is such as to render it susceptible to various changes and modifications, and, therefore, I am not to be limited to the construction disclosed by the drawings nor to the particular parts described in the specification; but am entitled to all such changes therefrom as fall within the scope of my claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevational View of my door, and showing an outside frame around it broken away.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional View similar to Figure 3,. but showing a modification with two, inflated bladders filling a space in overlapped relationship, and Figure 6 is the same view; but showing the bladders deflated.

Figure 7 is a top plan, diagrammatic view of my door, the dash lines showing various operable positions of the door, somewhat distorted as a result of contacts with trucks that have pushed it open.

Figure 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, crosssectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

the reference numeral 10 refers generally to the new door construction which has supporting means provided by a rigid inner stile 12 of metal or wood, for instance, and a flexible outer stile I4; thus providing opposite side supports. The body of the door is formed of resilient rails or cross'ties l6, spaced apart, and inflated bladders or other air retaining, yielding members 18 interposed in the spaces between the said cross ties I B. An outer, flexible covering 20 is shown firmly attached to the rigid stile l2 by longitudinal tie bars 22 and screws 24 and extends around, or is otherwise attached to said flexible stile I4. A window 25 may be provided in the door as shown.

Rigid stile I2 is pivotally attached to brackets 26 mounted on a door cheek or jainb 28 forming the inner side of a door or service opening pro-' vided with facing 30 in an outside Wall 32 of a walk-in type refrigerator or cold storage vault.

'Said'outer covering 20 is made of rubber or coated fabric of atype suitable to withstand repeated impacts without rupture or tearing andto withstand abrasion without rapid wear.

Each of the series of said spaced, resilient cross ties I6 is joined to the outer covering 20, both sides of each cross tie being adhered or otherwise fastened to the adjacent surface of the outer covering.

Said bladders iii are made of rubber or other resilient material capable of being inflated, or an air tight cell may be provided, either one occupying the spaces between the resilient cross ties I6 and being enclosed on each side by the outer covering 20, as may best be seen in Figure 2. Said bladders [8 preferably have valves 34 with valve access holes 36 provided in said outer covering 20 for inflating the bladders. Fully sealed gas-filled bladders, such as those permanently inflated by sublimed, solid carbon dioxide or Dry Ice, may be used if desired.

Flexible stile 14 (see Figures 3 and 4) may be made of resilient material such as a length of rubber hose, rod or extrusion of a size and wall thickness suitable to form a flexible nosing core, however, a solid shape (not shown) may be used. The ends of said hollow stile I4 are filled with plugs 33.

On either side of the rigid stile l2 are offset spacer blocks to to widen the space inside the outer covering 29 for the inflated bladders Hi, the outside diameter of the hollow core, flexible stile i5 matching the distance between the outer surfaces of the spacer blocks 40.

The modification of Figures 5 and 6 illustrates how two overlapping bladders 42 and 44 may be used in one space, particularly for wide doors.

Operation of this swinging, flexible door and its utility can readily be seen from the diagrammatic, top plan view of said Figure 7. The door I is shown in solid line in closed position. When a truck strikes the door unusually hard at point 46 (indicated by the arrow) the door may be deformed as indicated in the first dash line position 48 and absorb the shock of the impact. The energy thus stored up assists in swinging open the door. In case of a very hard bump the flexibility of the door [0 permits it to bend beyond the net clear opening indicated in the second dash line position 50 and even move to the distorted third dash line position 52. This prevents damage to the door when so struck by a truck. The further distortion of the door In to the third and fourth dash line positions 52 and 54 respectively, also accelerates the return swing or closing of the door. In case a truck turns before clearing the swing of the door the latter will bend to accommodate the truck without damage to the door and without imposing any strain on its frame or hardware at the pivotal points.

While the new swinging door In is particularly useful for closing the entrance to a walk-in refrigerator or cold storage vault, or other closed compartment, the inflated cells or bladders l8 serve as excellent insulation, and thus it has utility for any service entrance.

What I claim is:

l. A door construction comprising rigid supporting means at one side thereof, a body, substantially all of which is resilient, supported by said means, said body embodying more than two resilient cross ties spaced apart, bladders in the spaces between said cross ties, and a flexible cover substantially covering said body and attached to said supporting means.

2. A door construction comprising rigid supporting means at one side thereof, a body substantially all of which is resilient, supported by said means, said body embodying a plurality of resilient cross ties spaced apart, a bladder in the space between said cross ties, and a flexible cover substantially covering said body and attached to said supporting means.

3. A door construction comprising rigid supporting means at one side thereof, a body, substantially all of which is resilient, supported by said means, said body embodying a plurality of bladders, and a flexible cover substantially covering said body and attached to said supporting means.

4. A door construction comprising a rigid, inner stile, a body supported by said inner stile and.

embodying a flexible outer stile, said body embodying more than two resilient cross ties extending between and attached to said inner and outer stiles and spaced apart, bladders in the spaces between said cross ties, and a flexible cover attached to said stiles and to said cross ties and body embodying a plurality of resilient cross ties spaced apart, and a plurality of gas retaining members in the spaces between said cross ties, and a flexible cover substantially covering said body and attached to said supporting means.

6. A door construction comprising rigid supporting means at one side thereof, a body, substantially all of which is resilient, supported by said means, said body embodying more than two resilient cross ties spaced apart, bladders in overlapped relationship in the spaces between said cross ties, and a flexible cover substantially covering said body and attached to said supporting means.

7. A door construction comprising attaching means at one side thereof, a body attached to said attaching means and extending outwardly therefrom, said body embodying resilient supporting means and a plurality of bladders sup ported by said supporting means, and a flexible cover covering said bladders and supporting means and attached to said attaching means.

8. A door construction comprising an attaching portion at one side thereof, a body attached to REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,285,391 Robertson Nov. 19, 1918 1,733,034 'Iufenkjian Oct. 22, 1929 2,279,572 Kann Apr. 14, 1942 

